Many of us take these expressions “for granite,” when we really should take them “for granted.”
They're called “eggcorns."
Merriam-Webster recently added the word to its lexicon, and defines it as "a word or phrase that sounds like and is mistakenly used in a seemingly logical or plausible way for another word or phrase either on its own or as part of a set expression."
Coined in 2003 by Geoffrey Pullum when he observed someone using "egg corn" instead of "acorn", the term itself is an eggcorn.
NPR rounded up the most commonly used eggcorns. Here are the ones we hear most often around town:
1. "ice tea" instead of "iced tea"
2. "buck naked" instead of "butt naked"
3. "rebel rouser" instead of "rabble rouser"
4. "all intensive purposes" instead of "all intents and purposes"
5. "another thing coming" instead of "another think coming"
6. "duck tape" instead of "duct tape"
7. "hell in a handbag" instead "hell in a hand basket"
8. "lesser of two equals" instead of " lesser of two evils"
9. "sick sense" instead of "sixth sense"
10. "bond fire" instead of "bonfire"
What eggcorns would you add to the list? Send us your favorites to socialteam@ajc.com.
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